Electro-optical modulators convert data in the electrical domain to modulated data in the optical domain. This is desirable when one or more channels of high speed, or broadband data, need to be transmitted between two locations. However, conventional electro-optical modulators, e.g. using ring resonators or Mach-Zehnder interferometers, require relatively high energy to perform such conversion due to the inability to reduce the size of such conventional modulators. When many electro-optical modulators are used, e.g. in parallel, energy consumption may increase geometrically.
Although it is always desirable to reduce energy consumption, it is particularly desirable to do so in low temperature systems. Some energy used for modulation may be dissipated as heat which can detrimentally affect the performance of low temperature circuits.
Quantum computers using low temperature circuits require many high bandwidth data connections, e.g. using optical signals. Quantum computers are typically operated at very low temperatures, e.g. at cryogenic temperatures approaching zero Kelvin. Dissipated heat can detrimentally affect the stability, and thus the performance, of a quantum computer. Therefore, there is a need to for electro-optical modulators that operate with diminished energy levels.